Academic Honesty & Integrity

The College is committed to creating a community that acts with honesty and forthrightness, holding ourselves to high academic and ethical standards, and treating everyone in a respectful manner.

Academic honesty is essential to the intellectual health of a college and the ideals of education. Honesty and integrity are fundamental values that guide and inform us as individuals and as a community. Becker College expects students to be honest and to conduct themselves with integrity in all aspects of their relationship with the college. Examples of these are application, transfer evaluation, academic progress review, credit and non-credit bearing experiences, including regular course work, independent studies, internships, practica, student teaching, and interactions with faculty, staff, and students. Any form of dishonesty, academic or otherwise, adversely affects the educational function of the College and undermines the integrity of its programs.

Some actions cannot be tolerated because they seriously interfere with the basic purpose and processes of an academic community, or with the rights accorded other members of the community. By formulating a general code of ethics, rights, and responsibilities, the College reaffirms the principle of student freedom coupled with personal responsibility and accountability for individual action and the consequences of such action.

Students are not only members of the academic community but also members of the larger society. Thus they retain the rights, protection, guarantees, and responsibilities that are held by all citizens. A student is not immune to prosecution by local, state, or federal enforcement agencies, whether or not the College takes action on the violation.

Dishonest conduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, forgery, alteration of records, along with any lying, deceit, bribery, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of influencing a grade or for any other academic gain. Action against a student determined to have violated the academic honesty policy can range from a reduction of the grade on an assignment, through failure of a course, to suspension or even dismissal from the academic program, the department, or the College.

We desire to prevent the spread of behavior and practices that alone and in themselves appear tolerable, but when widespread or repeated may threaten to undermine the morale, trust, and good faith necessary in an academic community.

Commission of offenses such as willful neglect of proper requests, lying, broken promises, intentionally furnishing false information to a Becker official, and failure to present proper identification renders one accountable and liable for judgment or disciplinary action. A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be afforded due process through the College appeal system.

Acts such as, but not limited to, assault, battery, harassment (which would include sexual harassment), hazing, dangerous and/or binge drinking, substance abuse, stalking, rape, abuse, theft, damage, threat, injury, possession or use of firearms or explosives, fraud, blackmail, unfair discrimination, slander, impairing the well-being of another community member or self, suicidal gestures, or invasion of privacy render one liable for disciplinary action.

Applicability of Policy

The student rights and responsibilities apply principally to conduct that occurs on College premises or at College-related activities and facilities, including class sessions and all other educational activities. College premises mean all land, buildings, facilities, and other property owned or leased by Becker College. Off-campus conduct may also subject a student to disciplinary or other appropriate administrative action when it is reasonably perceived to pose an imminent threat of physical or mental harm to the safety of the student or others, or reflects on a student's fitness to continue in the academic program in which she/he is enrolled. In addition, the College may respond to other off-campus student conduct through non-disciplinary or administrative interventions. Repeated conduct of this kind may cumulatively form the basis for on-campus judicial action.

Violations

Individual faculty members determine the sanctions to be imposed for violations of the standards described above as regards their specific courses and publish them in their course syllabus. Regardless of faculty specified sanctions, or in the event the specific violation is not discussed, the college-wide policy still applies and sanctions may be imposed as described below. Violations of any of the standards within a specific course will be reported to the Academic Dean.

Sanctions

Sanctions for violations of any of the standards will be reported to the Academic Dean and include one or more of the following:

a written warning,

a zero on the indicated coursework,

a grade of F in the course,

withdrawal from the course with a grade of WP or WF

suspension for one or more semesters,

dismissal from the College.

expulsion from the College

A student can be dismissed after a first offense if the violation is egregious as determined by the Student Affairs Committee.